As one French commentator has wisely written: Ukraine needs two 'F's' -- a federal system of self-governing provinces, and 'Finlandization.' The last thing it needs is domination by either the New Russia or the partisans of a New American Century

Another tribute to conspicuous wealth comes in the annual "Rich List," a guide to the 1,000 richest in Britain, published in The Sunday Times Magazine. A fat feline sits proudly on the cover with the symbol of a British pound (in gold) around its neck

European Parliament elections are expected to bring about a new all-time record turnout in support for right-wing, anti-immigrant, and anti-EU fringe parties. In many European countries, extremist parties have been on the rise

The EU is under attack from all sides. To many on the Right, it seems to be an over-regulated bureaucracy that is undermining the bloc's competitiveness. To those on the Left, it's seen as a vehicle for imposing neoliberalism on an unwilling population

As I write, the next step in the Ukraine crisis is unknown. The new authorities in Kiev have sent forces to try to recover the official buildings taken over by pro-Russian forces in the East of Ukraine

An international disorder unmatched since the interwar 1930s has been created by the drama of Ukraine and the Russians. At least no ideological dictatorships are on the march, only confusion, incompetence, and intellectual and moral disorder

Four years after Greece entered the economic crisis, there are signs the reforms sought by the international lenders have begun to pay off. The costs have been high, but the Greek government has stuck to implementing the required steps

Past debates on the EU's possible emergence as a superpower have usually focused on its influence abroad. However, the EU's ability to project power and influence will also shape its internal future -- by either proving its utility to member states or not

After the tenuous deal struck aimed at de-escalating the Ukrainian crisis, Secretary of State John Kerry cautiously called it 'a good day's work.' Whether it will turn out to be more than that depends of course on Russia's willingness to follow through

In the aftermath of Crimea, attention is focused on the efficacy of the West's response in the form of economic and travel sanctions. More important for the longer term is what Moscow will learn from the Western response

In an apparent effort to fight bribery with even more overt state-sanctioned bribery, the battle for the hearts and minds of Ukraine has devolved into two suitors -- the West and Russia -- flashing their respective bank account statements. How obscene

During the Cold War, the Western allies kept relative peace by committing to intervene militarily against overt violations of national borders. In the current Ukraine crisis, Obama's acknowledgment that there is no "military solution" no doubt is an affront to hard-liners

In American domestic politics, messing with Social Security is known as "the third rail," referring to the power source for trains that is fatal to the touch. In foreign policy discussions, invoking the name of Adolf Hitler promises the same lethal result

Today's fight for Ukraine began with the Maidan uprising in November, but the struggle has its roots in an earlier period of political ferment -- 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed and Ukraine became an independent state

After a quarter of a century of relative calm since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russians are coming again. The regime of President Vladimir Putin has swiftly pivoted to much more serious gamesmanship in neighboring Ukraine

Hopefully, leaders from both sides of this East-West conflict will calm down and start thinking of their own long-term interests -- which might be more similar to the other side's long-term interests than the leaders on both sides realize

Obama's response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's power move in Crimea can hardly be compared to Neville Chamberlain's fateful surrender to Adolf Hitler's blatant theft of the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia in 1938

We must consider the future of Eurasia after the fall of the Soviet Union. The successor state to the Soviet Union, Russia, is emerging from this period with renewed self-confidence. Yet Russia is also in an untenable geopolitical position

Not only are many families being forced to abandon Athens and return to their roots, but a number of young people are choosing to start their working lives in the countryside, aware that Athens offers no hope of employment

The narrow majority vote in Switzerland against the 'massive immigration' foreseen as a consequence of accepting the European Union's commitment to free passage within the borders of 'Schengen Europe' has left the Brussels authorities in 'stupor'

There is no longer a British Empire and perhaps soon there will no longer be a Britain. The American effort to follow in Britain's steps and sustain Europe has failed. The postwar era has ended; but not the appetite for war and conquest

Things are moving far too fast in Kiev, Moscow and Crimea to write about events there. But the past isn't going anywhere. Though you wouldn't know that from the way the Obama administration talks about it

My beloved golden-domed Kiev with its cobbled streets and laid-back people will never be the same. We used to enjoy a slow, Mediterranean-style routine of cafes and gossip. Muscovites treated our city like a resort. These days the city centre is a war zone

While most of the Western media describes the crisis in the Ukraine as a confrontation between authoritarianism and democracy, many of the shock troops who have manned barricades in Kiev and Lviv these past months have little interest in democracy

Ceding to protestors' demands, Ukrainian parliament members voted to impeach President Viktor Yanukovych and hold early elections. Various media outlets responded by breathlessly declaring the situation a 'revolution.' Except that it isn't at this point

The former Hellinikon International Airport site, a sprawling 600-hectare lot that closed in 2001, will soon be awarded to a private investor to develop it commercially, a reversal from original plans to develop it into Europe's biggest urban park

What did Washington expect to gain from a coup d'etat in Ukraine? It gained little from the 'Orange Revolution', that first put Viktor Yuschenko and Yulia Tymoshenko into power in independent Ukraine. Their power produced rivalry and corruption

Ukrainians are in uproar about how to force their distressed government to accept the majority will in Ukraine to join Western Europe, via association with the European Union. Their effort has produced rebellion and spilled into violence

Pussy Riot are now global celebrities. Since the amnesty of Nadya Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina in December, their lives have been repackaged into simple cinematic narratives of heroic defiance to Putin's authoritarianism

Only when Russia has had an autocratic leader who set up a system where competing factions are balanced against each other has Russia enjoyed prosperity and stability. In other words, without a heavy-handed leader, Russia struggles to maintain stability

The challenge facing Romania is to create an economic dimension to its political and military relationship with the United States. A multidimensional relationship is inherently more self-sustaining than simply a political-military relationship

Not only was the intercept of European states' communications cause for outrage, but these countries' diplomatic premises in Washington, the United Nations and elsewhere being penetrated and bugged, as well as those of the European Union

European governments have been expressing faux outrage over American intelligence activities in the wake of the documents released by Edward Snowden indicating that the United States bugged European reps in Washington, D.C.

Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel says that the answer to Europe Union's problems is more political integration. But, one is left asking what closer political union can bring to the EU without a full transfer of national sovereignties to European institutions

It is not simply the euro zone that is threatened by the dramatic economic discrepancies that now exist among its members. Now it is the European Union itself that is in danger, mainly but not entirely because of the economic crisis inherited from Wall Street abuses

When it comes to thinking up the brightest ideas in the world, the light bulb always seems to be blazing above an American head. The British, in contrast, rarely seem to make an impact. If they do come up with something, it tends to be the grand historical narrative

Debates on the strategic implications of Scottish independence have centred on the future of nuclear submarine bases, the divvying-up of British armed forces, and Scotland's ability to defend itself. But these are questions about the means rather than ends

The ultimate terms of the Cyprus bailout reveal the ongoing problems in the European Union, where differing political agendas have undermined the cohesion of the system as a whole. Policymakers have neglected to consider the lasting negative consequences

The European Union has voiced concern about low fertility as a major demographic challenge. If it stays at these low levels, the population quickly moves from growth to decline, which is already happening in Germany, despite immigration

While Europe as a whole is suffering from the economic crisis, the Muslim population has been hit particularly hard. This, in addition to the frequent discrimination against Muslims, leaves many Muslims feeling alienated, disenfranchised and resentful

Former French Budget Minister Jerome Cahuzac, who left his Socialist government post earlier this year amid allegations of a secret Swiss bank account, now faces a formal investigation for allegedly laundering the proceeds of tax evasion

Many Greeks are welcoming an announcement that further austerity measures to repay Greece's overwhelming debt will not be sought following three years of pay cuts, tax increases and slashed pensions. Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said better times are ahead

When the Peace Palace, home to the Permanent Court of Arbitration, opened in 1913, it was hoped it would herald a new era in international relations: one in which force of argument rather than force of arms settled international disputes

There is a paradox in the British attitude towards the railways. On the one hand, trains are the great repository of complaints. Indeed, no boss questions employees who site train delay as an excuse. On the other, people just keep flocking on to the lines

China has become the world's workshop and Europe has an insatiable appetite for its exports. Most now arrive on giant container ships. But as ports become clogged and delivery times critical, China is once again looking to the old land routes across Asia

The global financial crisis has slowly yielded to a global unemployment crisis. This unemployment crisis will give way to a political crisis. The crisis involves all three of the major pillars of the global system -- Europe, China and the United States

Switzerland just had a referendum in which it voted to give company and bank shareholders veto rights over the salaries, bonuses and overall compensation packages of senior executives and board directors

The United Kingdom could set an attractive precedent as it tries to disentangle itself from European Union affairs. There is a faction within the ruling Conservative Party that believes the UK should abandon the European Union entirely

European Union prosperity has now proved a phantom -- one conjured up by accounting gimmickry and borrowed German money. Neither the EU at large nor most individual European nations can sustain their present rate of redistributionist entitlements

From an economic perspective, Russia has been unable to avoid the effects of the global financial crisis. From a geopolitical perspective, the position is rather different. Since the crisis began, Russia has taken a number of steps to strengthen its positions in Europe

The Nobel Committee recently awarded its prestigious top prize to 500 million people who have, for the last 65 years, made a conscious decision to live together in peace and harmony: the European Union

Great Britain, an EU member not part of the euro currency zone, has always kept one foot inside Europe in its dealings. But as the old dating adage goes, you don't dump the chump before you've secured another one

The European Union's southern member states have turned the EU into one of the sicker regions of the world. In contrast, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden have stood out by keeping much of their reputation and self-confidence intact

Nearly every step towards total union has revealed still more of the inherent factors of disunity in Europe and has dramatized how distant 'Europe' has become from the simple and lucid ambitions of its origins

Two renowned figures suggest that Greek Cyprus' presidency of the EU is an opportunity to correct nearly 40 years of history -- the reunification of Cyprus for the first time since the Turkish invasion of 1974

Throughout the Euro crisis, the Euro elite has suffered from the same inability to imagine failure that led to August 1914. Even days before the outbreak of war, it was thought impossible because the consequences would end the system

If the eurozone splinters, it will have been an avoidable disaster. The choice lies with Germany, which can save the monetary union if it allows for policies aimed at debt relief and growth, not just slashing deficits

Even before the financial sector and sovereign debt crisis began to destabilise Europe's banking system, European leaders were voicing fears that the Old World might be slipping towards global irrelevance

The great economic crisis has given birth to a smaller and tighter monetary union in Europe, under the influence of a Germany that is undergoing a certain estrangement from its European partners. This amounts to a possibly dangerous wager on what the European Union will ultimately become

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has pushed for stronger rules against overspending as the long-term answer to Europe's debt crisis and says the fixes for the eurozone's flaws must be written into changes in the basic EU treaty

Socialism and its accompanying economic devastation thrive on complexity and red tape. If something is so simple that anyone can figure it out, then a socialist is being deprived of a livelihood. That's the dragon Europe is now stuck having to slay

In Greece, opinion is that once again, as in 1917, 1940 and 1947, when, as they are convinced, they were ill-used by the great Western powers, they once again are victims of Western Europe, and especially of Germany

The dominant view has been that the Greek debt is the creation of a clientelistic political system that has historically resulted in a bloated public sector, unable to collect taxes. This is not a serious view

The international monetary system rests on just two currencies: the dollar and the euro. They are essential to global trade and finance. Were they not widely accepted, the global economy could not sustain current levels of international trade and investment.

Thanks to globalization, a crisis of governability has beset the Western world. The mismatch between the growing demand for good governance and its shrinking supply is one of the gravest challenges facing the West today

The United States' central challenge over the next several decades is to revitalize itself, while promoting a larger West and buttressing a complex balance in the East that can accommodate China's rising global status

Comparing past sovereign restructurings, William R. Cline, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, says that Uruguay's orderly default in 2003 offers a constructive example for Greece. The tentative Greek plan is similar to the path Uruguay

Only the United States seems to have an affinity for protecting tiny, vulnerable countries. Israelis, anti-communist Chinese, Kurds, Greeks and Armenians have a few things in common. They have relatively small populations, aggressive neighbors, few strong allies, many expatriates and refugees in the United States, and a tragic history of persecution and genocide

Senior banker Lucas Papademos was named to be the new prime minister of an interim Greek unity government that seeks to agree upon a new European debt deal and thwart national bankruptcy for the financially ailing country

With Italy's debt ballooning to over $1.5 trillion, some leaders are now asking if the country has reached a point of being beyond rescue. The offer by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to resign from his post had failed to slow down the financial turmoil

This burgeoning threat has been framed as a uniquely European problem; one Europeans should ultimately solve. However, this perceived European problem now poses a threat to the economic stability of the entire world

The euro area has a real-time debt crisis already; the United States has a slow-fuse possible future debt crisis. The euro zone has unnecessarily provoked contagion from Greece to first Ireland and Portugal and now Italy and Spain

Eurozone exit rules would decrease the probability of a breakup of the Eurozone by enhancing market discipline, increasing the political bargaining power of EZ members vis-a-vis the profligate countries, enhancing internal discipline in the profligate countries, and reducing market uncertainty

For the Arab Spring it was Twitter; for the summer riots in London it was BlackBerry Messenger. The latest technology is helping to accelerate 'information cascades', where people make decisions based on what they see other people doing -- and getting away with

It was short-term good news in that it defused 'the bomb' -- the possible catastrophe vortex of failing banks and defaulting sovereigns. The bad news is that it will induce a recession. Banks will create a credit crunch in trying to meet capital adequacy ratios, and the new austerity will create a fiscal contraction

Each age becomes mesmerized by its own technological revolutions, so I am going to focus upon something rather different: indicators of changes which suggest that we are approaching, or may even have crossed, certain historical watersheds in the hard worlds of economics and politics

If you want the real reason for concern in the United States about what's happening in Europe, follow the money. A Greek (or Irish or Spanish or Italian or Portuguese) default would have roughly the same effect on our financial system as the implosion of Lehman Brothers in 2008. That is, financial chaos

A new survey shows that a majority of Europeans want the United States to continue exerting 'strong leadership in world affairs.' One wonders why Europe holds so much faith in America right now when Americans, trapped in a deep national malaise, have so little faith in themselves

Time is running out for EU leaders to put an end to the Eurozone crisis. This column explains how leaders could find a definitive solution to Greece insolvency, isolate solvent countries from possible Greek contagion, improve EU governance by creating a true European parliament, and refocus on a pro-growth policy mix

After a shaky start to the third quarter, the economy has found firmer footing, avoiding the double-dip recession that seemed imminent this summer. But don't celebrate just yet -- economists still expect a long, hard slog to a sustained economic recovery

'Birds of a feather flock together,' the old saying goes. So, too, do investors. Increasingly, talk is of a 'double-dip recession', 'Euro zone collapse' and the United States and Europe 'turning into Japan' -- that is, experiencing years of economic stagnation

The European Union is presently a source of great instability that leaders have yet to tackle. This column argues the current policy response is misguided. The adjustment programmes are bound to fail to achieve sustainable budget deficits, and may result in an unprecedented destruction of economic activity

The crisis won't be over until the underlying flaw of the euro is fixed -- namely the separation of monetary and fiscal policy. German public opinion has to realise that the euro was built on imperfect foundations and that these imperfections must be corrected. Meanwhile, the Italian president of the ECB will need all his technical and political expertise to keep the Eurozone together

European Union leaders have brokered a deal to reduce Greece's debt and hopefully stem the continent's lingering debt crisis. The deal is a major move forward, but it is still only one step in restoring stability on a continent beset by economic woes

Conventional wisdom has it that the eurozone cannot have a monetary union without also having a fiscal union. Euro-enthusiasts see the single currency as the first steppingstone toward a broader economic union, which is their dream. Euroskeptics do, too, but they see that endgame as hell -- and would prefer the single currency to be dismantled

Vladimir Putin's Russia is a disaster of a declining population, corruption, authoritarianism and a warped economy. Why, then, would Putin want to ruin additional territory in Crimea and Ukraine the way that he has wrecked most of Russia?

Vladimir Putin has convinced many Russians that the interim government in Ukraine is fascist. And while there were some neo-Nazi goons and ultranationalists among the coalition resisting Moscow, it's simply a transparent lie that the current government is fascist

If you go on a Ukrainian geopolitical bender in front of a former KGB chief like Vladimir Putin without having a firm grasp of the opposition's mind-set, you risk launching yourself into a wall like some kind of drunken frat bro on a Slip 'n Slide

In all, it doesn't seem quite the time for either side to turn this virtual war in Ukraine into a real one. One hopes that the advisers of both Presidents Obama and Putin have grasped that. But probably one group or the other has not

The outcome of the French municipal elections contributed to the general European unease about the future of the European Union. In May EU Parliament elections will take place in the troubled circumstances of economic crisis everywhere but Germany

Russia and the West are both warning of the risk of escalation to a civil war in Ukraine between pro-Russian and pro-Western factions. Except 'Cold War Reloaded' is different this time -- and the differences are worth keeping in mind as events unfold

President Obama is right. He told Major Garrett that 'Mr. Putin's decisions aren't just bad for Ukraine. Over the long term, they're going to be bad for Russia.' But here's the thing: Putin disagrees. And on the matter of Ukraine, Putin is immune to persuasion

The long shadow cast by France on its former colonies in North Africa is the subject of "The French Intifada." The book examines France's engagement with Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco, a story of 200 years of invasions and immigration across the Mediterranean

Will everyone please stop talking about a new Cold War? However badly things work out between Russia and the West, a new Cold War isn't in the cards because Russia today isn't the Soviet Union. Sure, there are similarities, but ...

The report that protesters have declared two eastern Ukraine cities to be independent republics questions President Obama's assurance that there is no "military solution" to the crisis that began with Russian President Vladmir Putin's land grab of Crimea

Here again in the Ukrainian affair we see the Manichean habits of mind of the Cold War, still the most powerful precedent in the last 50 years of American and Western political history and policy studies

After Vladimir Putin's speech in the Kremlin justifying and welcoming Russian annexation of Crimea, the western press now asks what next will Putin do? How far will he go? That question was answered by Vladimir Putin himself in his address

The annual inundations that covered St Mark's Square and threatened La Serenissima with watery oblivion will soon be a thing of the past. The vast barrage holding back the waters of the Adriatic is almost complete. Venice is no longer in peril

Turkish-Armenians are welcoming Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's offer of condolences for the mass killings of Armenians that began 99 years ago during the Ottoman era. But opinions are mixed as to whether Erdogan's words will lead toward reconciliation

The most disappointing thing about the news that French President Francois Hollande allegedly has been rendezvousing with an actress is that it's a testament to how pathetic some segments of French society are allowing public discourse to become

When Communism collapsed in 1989 in Europe, many industries collapsed with it. But one sector grew: the media. Where there had once been a state monopoly, now there was pluralism. There was suddenly an explosion of reporting, commentary, TV debates

Volen Siderov is the leader of Ataka, perhaps the most controversial political party in Bulgaria. Ataka came to prominence in 2005. The party's platform mixes a left-wing critique of globalization with a frankly nationalist approach to minority policy

Poor Bulgaria. The Russians won't be back, but once again the Germans are headed her way -- this time armed with nothing more than a change of currency and the policies of austerity that go along with it. The devastation those will inflict, however, is likely to be considerable

The disintegration of Yugoslavia was a triumph of nationalist passions over political interests. If the latter had prevailed, the process would at least have proceeded peacefully. Some of those passions still remain, but the worst excesses have subsided

Marko Hren has spent a lot of time thinking about the 'what if' and believes that peace activists might have been able to prevent the slaughter that spread through the former Yugoslavian region in the 1990s

Since the start of the Global War on Terror, the military has been shifting its European center of gravity from Germany. In the process, the Pentagon has turned the Italian peninsula into a launching pad for future wars in Africa, the Middle East, and beyond

Some arresting images of the healing power of culture have emerged this year from a small city in Northern Ireland. Derry-Londonderry -- the residents argue over what to call it -- is a location where the Troubles began, a conflict that lasted a quarter of a century

Before we see another Mediterranean renaissance, constitutional government would have to sweep the Muslim world. The bureaucracy of the European Union would have to reform or disappear. Unfortunately, the Mediterranean is reverting to its stagnant 18th-century past

Poland is a thriving, vibrant democracy that, like Germany, managed to escape most of the devastating economic repercussions of the European debt crisis. But it's still struggling, not so successfully, to cope with its dark past

There is a silent war going on in Britain, between the Baby Boomers and the Millennials. The generation born after 1981 is trying to deal with a simmering resentment towards their parents, because of the things we will not inherit

If you read the news about Iceland you must understand that my country tends to be a projection of journalists' wishes. Reporters talk about the place that threw out the government, crowd-sourced a new constitution and made a brand new economic system

When the proposal was initially made for a common European currency, it seemed to be a good idea. Although inexpert in economics, it struck me as an effect of a false analogy with the United States that was common in Europe at that time

What makes this crisis different from the previous European bank bailouts are the conditions the European Union has set. Due to circumstances unique to Cyprus, the European Union, led by Germany, has taken a harder line with the country

The European Union's bailout plan for Cyprus has nothing to do with socialism but rather with much greater stakes. This is the EU attempting to outmaneuver an uncharacteristically flat-footed Vladimir Putin and Russia in a key battleground

Socialist French President Francois Hollande is in the pilot's seat in the world's latest military incursion. We're not used to seeing the French lead the way into battle, but it's becoming increasingly frequent

With unemployment in Greece at 27 percent, it is not surprising to see both radical right- and left-wing groups gaining support from those who have become disaffected by the crises. The disenchanted are joining radical parties espousing a wide variety of ideologies

Along with the divide between rich and poor in Europe, another has opened between the mobile and the stationary. This tension between the mobile and the stationary can be creative and not just contentious

Dean Acheson's remark that 'Britain has lost an empire and not yet found a role' was made fifty years ago, in 1962. Ever since, it has been held up as a uniquely pithy summary of the Great British foreign policy dilemma

Alex Salmond has confidently asserted that, if Scotland becomes independent, it will automatically remain a member of the European Union. This will be a central issue in the Scottish independence debate

The euro crisis is now threatening to turn the European Union into something fundamentally different. The member countries are divided into two classes -- creditors and debtors -- with the creditors in charge

France has a double crisis. Its ruling political party, Francois Hollande's Socialist, is in a state of catatonia, usually defined as a condition of incoherence with alternate periods of stupor and activity

Like ghosts from the past, we see political violence, xenophobia, migrants being scapegoated and extreme nationalism creeping into our public debates -- even into our parliaments. This is a Europe diverging from its founding principles

There is a sense of frustration and impotence in watching the eurozone crisis unfold. The crisis could be dealt in a swift and credible way if leaders were capable of acting with vision and a sense of purpose

Sweden projects an unrealistic image to the world. It is a small country with a thriving cultural export industry that sells whatever the outside world will pay for, which is mostly escapism. Economists call this creativity

Global governance has yet to prove its relevance to any civilization except that of the post-Enlightenment West, and one can question its relevance there. Political identity remains bound to national history -- the fundamental underpinning of sovereignty

The crisis Turkey has gone through was similar to what the EU is experiencing now. Banks went bankrupt. People's savings disappeared. Companies closed down. The Turkish economy shrank drastically. That crisis was a very important lesson

With Germany enjoying historic lows in unemployment, why is she resisting calls to open her purse strings to help the eurozone's floundering members? It is worth examining why Germans see things differently

The Balkans are historically apart from Europe for two reasons. This has everything to do with the present crisis of Greece and the future of Greece's membership in -- or perhaps its departure from -- the European Union and its euro zone

It's no accident that Greece is the most economically troubled country in the EU. The fact that it is located at Europe's southeastern back door also has something to do with it. For Greece's economic and political development bear marks of a legacy not wholly in the modern West

Economists continue inveighing against austerity strategies. But none of them seem capable of explaining in plain, simple language why imposing austerity now is utterly foolhardy -- in fact, just plain stupid

Decisions by Europe and America in the past month have pushed away Canada and its oil overtures under the guise of environmentalism -- which is turning out to be the new protectionism. And for what? So America and Europe can explore more 'green-friendly' petroleum deals with unstable Middle Eastern and African regimes?

Everyone is wondering about the next disaster to befall Europe. Italy is one focus; Spain is also a possibility. But these crises are already under way. Instead, the next crisis will be political, not in the sense of what conventional politician is going to become prime minister, but in the deeper sense of whether Europe's political elite can retain power

New political leaders do not invent new national strategies. Rather, they adapt enduring national strategies to the moment. And for France, the underlying issue remains constant: France's struggle for a dominant role in Europe at a time of German ascendance

Putin's return to the presidency was not unexpected. But it comes as an anti-incumbent trend is developing in Europe. In response to these changes, Putin will have to adjust Russia's approach in Europe

Although overpopulation plagues much of the developing world, many developed societies are now suffering from the opposite problem: birthrates so low that each generation is smaller than the previous one

Thirty-one years ago Francis Mitterrand became the only left-wing president of France's Fifth Republic, and set off on the path of Socialism in one country, with dramatic consequences. The parallels are evident

The financial crisis, the subsequent economic crisis and the crisis in the Eurozone can be seen as both a confirmation of the decline of socialist and social democratic parties as well as an opportunity for them to return to their roots

The financial crisis had its greatest impact in Europe, where it is triggering a generational shift. Since 1991, the idea of an integrated Europe has been a driving force of the global economy. Europe also has been presented as an implicit alternative to the United States as the global center of gravity

The plans all are financial solutions to a particular set of financial problems. But regardless of whether they are realistic in addressing the financial problem, the question of whether the financial issue really addresses the fundamental dilemma of Europe -- which is political and geopolitical -- remains

However kindly you look at it, the United Kingdom's economy is broken and so are significant parts of our society. How worried should we be? Just over twenty years after that infamous 'end of history' and triumph of western capitalism moment, have we now reached the nemesis point?

Peter Zeihan examines the obstacles to Greek prosperity and the challenges in ejecting Greece from the eurozone. Find out why Greece isn't salvageable, and why Europeans need at least 2 trillion euro to kick it out of the eurozone without triggering financial catastrophe

France, like all of Europe, is caught in an economic tsunami, and France is teetering at the edge of the precipice. Every week, it seems, presidents and prime ministers hold urgent meetings searching for a solution, culminating with the G-20 convocation recently. Still, the problem grows only worse

For most people, the knee-jerk reaction to an event on the other side of the world is, 'Why should I give a toss what happens in France?' While such foreign-policy prowess might be a hit at the local pub, would it really be smart to ignore an election that will impact everything in your life for which you pay or require borrowed money? Bear with me as I explain

Degrees in hand but no jobs and few prospects, many of Greece's young say they'll reluctantly abandon their near-bankrupt country and look for work and a new life in other countries. Others are just resigned

The falling standard of living, coupled with the economic slowdown and government reduction of tax breaks and social benefits, will lead to 3 million children in the United Kingdom living in poverty by 2013, the Institute for Fiscal Studies forecast

Welcome, world, to 'Cold War Reloaded: The Arctic Frontier.' Time to pull the pin out of the top of that dusty globe you have on your desk and have a look at the battle line of the future -- rife with oil and high-value raw minerals

Once the preserve of fishing boats and yachts, in the space of just a few weeks the serene waters of the Eastern Mediterranean have become a field of contention. As Greek Cyprus begins exploiting its potentially vast gas and oil reserves, Turkey asserts its growing role as a regional power, and a worried Israel is pushing back

Just the other day, Mr. Geithner was solemnly lecturing European policymakers on the dangers of not getting their financial house in order. That's right: The American secretary of the Treasury was telling other governments to beware of out-of-control spending

Europe might seem too treacherous for investors just now. The region's broader stock market is down more than 20 percent so far this year. But some asset allocation advisers and fund managers believe there is a place for European exposure in a diverse portfolio that can tolerate at least some level of risk

The European Commission has recommended Serbia to win EU candidate status, assuring it to grant EU entry to the Balkan state once it makes necessary progress in its relations with Kosovo, which has declared itself as an independent state

The single European currency is the first of its kind, something that many argue is the root cause of its troubles. The chief lesson, however, from the history of the next best thing, federal states with common currencies, is clear : no bailouts